The radio series ran from 1952 to 1961. John Dunning[3] wrote that among radio drama enthusiasts, "Gunsmoke is routinely placed among the best shows of any kind and any time." The television series ran for 20 seasons from 1955 to 1975, and stands as the United States' longest-running prime time, live-action drama with 635 episodes. In 2010, Law & Order tied Gunsmoke for most seasons for a live action drama series when it finished its twentieth and final season, but the show finished 179 episodes short of Gunsmoke's final total; in terms of prime-time scripted series with continuing characters, The Simpsons is the only program to exceed 20 seasons. At the end of its run in 1975, Los Angeles Times columnist Cecil Smith wrote: "Gunsmoke was the dramatization of the American epic legend of the west. Our own Iliad and Odyssey, created from standard elements of the dime novel and the pulp western as romanticized by [Ned] Buntline, [Bret] Harte, and [Mark] Twain. It was ever the stuff of legend."[4]

In the late 1940s, CBS chairman William S. Paley, a fan of the Philip Marlowe radio serial, asked his programming chief, Hubell Robinson, to develop a hardboiled Western series, a show about a "Philip Marlowe of the Old West". Robinson instructed his West Coast CBS Vice-President, Harry Ackerman, who had developed the Philip Marlowe series, to take on the task.[citation needed]

Ackerman and his scriptwriters, Mort Fine and David Friedkin, created an audition script called "Mark Dillon Goes to Gouge Eye" based on one of their Michael Shayne radio scripts, "The Crooked Wheel". Two auditions were created in 1949. The first was very much like a hardboiled detective series and starred Michael Rye (credited as Rye Billsbury) as Dillon; the second starred Straight Arrow actor Howard Culver in a more Western, lighter version of the same script. CBS liked the Culver version better, and Ackerman was told to proceed.

But there was a complication. Culver's contract as the star of Straight Arrow would not allow him to do another Western series. The project was shelved for three years, when producer Norman Macdonnell and Writer John Meston discovered it creating an adult Western series of their own.[citation needed]

Macdonnell and Meston wanted to create a radio Western for adults, in contrast to the prevailing juvenile fare such as The Lone Ranger and The Cisco Kid.Gunsmoke was set in Dodge City, Kansas, during the thriving cattle days of the 1870s. Dunning[5] notes, "The show drew critical acclaim for unprecedented realism."

Very early episodes still in the archives reveal two episodes with Marshal Mark Dillon as the lead, not yet played by Conrad. Conrad was one of the last actors to audition for the role of Marshal Dillon. With a powerful, distinctive voice, Conrad was already one of radio's busiest actors. Though Meston championed him, Macdonnell thought Conrad might be overexposed. During his audition, however, Conrad won over Macdonnell after reading only a few lines. Dillon as portrayed by Conrad was a lonely, isolated man, toughened by a hard life. Macdonnell later claimed, "Much of Matt Dillon's character grew out of Bill Conrad."[6]

Meston relished the upending of cherished Western fiction clichés and felt that few Westerns gave any inkling of how brutal the Old West was in reality. Many episodes were based on man's cruelty to man and woman, inasmuch as the prairie woman's life and the painful treatment of women as chattels were touched on well ahead of their time in most media. As originally pitched to CBS executives, this was to be an adult Western, not a grown up Hopalong Cassidy.

Dunning writes that Meston was especially disgusted by the archetypal Western hero and set out "to destroy [that type of] character he loathed". In Meston's view, "Dillon was almost as scarred as the homicidal psychopaths who drifted into Dodge from all directions."[7]

Chester's character had no surname until Baer ad libbed "Proudfoot" during an early rehearsal. Initial Gunsmoke scripts gave him no name at all; his lines were simply slugged to be spoken by "Townsman". Again Conrad's sense of what the program would be supervened, and Chester was born. The amiable Waco expatriate was usually described as Dillon's "assistant", but in the December 13, 1952, episode "Post Martin", Dillon described Chester as Dillon's deputy. Whatever his title, Chester was Dillon's foil, friend, partner, and in an episode in which Chester nearly dies (S1E5, "Never Pester Chester"), Dillon allows that Chester was the only person he could trust. The TV series changed Chester's last name to Goode.

Doc Adams was, at first, a grumpy and somewhat dark character, but McNear's performances steadily became more warm-hearted. Doc Adams' backstory is elastic: In some episodes, he had educational ties to Philadelphia, in others he spent time as ship's doctor aboard the gambling boats that plied the Mississippi River, which provided a background for his knowledge of New Orleans (and acquaintance with Mark Twain). In the January 31, 1953, episode "Cavalcade", a fuller history is offered, even though subsequent programs kept close listeners' heads spinning. In "Cavalcade", his real name is Calvin Moore, educated in Boston, and he practiced as a doctor for a year in Richmond, Virginia, where he fell in love with a beautiful young woman who was also being courted by a wealthy young man named Roger Beauregard. Beauregard forced Doc into fighting a duel with him, resulting in Beauregard's being shot and killed. Even though it was a fair duel, because Doc was a Yankee and an outsider he was forced to flee. The young woman fled after him and they were married in St. Louis, but two months later she died of typhus. Doc wandered throughout the territories until he settled in Dodge City 17 years later under the name of "Charles Adams". The Adams moniker was another Conrad invention, borrowing the surname from cartoonist Charles Addams as a testament to Doc's occasionally ghoulish comportment.

Georgia Ellis appeared in the first episode "Billy the Kid" (April 26, 1952) as "Francie Richards", a former girlfriend of Matt Dillon and the widow of a criminal. "Miss Kitty" did not appear on the radio series until the May 10, 1952, episode "Jaliscoe". Kitty's profession was hinted at, but never explicit; in a 1953 interview with Time, Macdonnell declared, "Kitty is just someone Matt has to visit every once in a while. We never say it, but Kitty is a prostitute, plain and simple."[7] An out-take from the program makes this hilariously obvious.[8] The television show first portrayed Kitty as a saloon employee (dance-hall girl/prostitute) then later as the owner of the Long Branch Saloon. Sometime in 1959, Ellis was billed as Georgia Hawkins instead of Georgia Ellis.

Gunsmoke was often a somber program, particularly in its early years. Dunning writes that Dillon "played his hand and often lost. He arrived too late to prevent a lynching. He amputated a dying man's leg and lost the patient anyway. He saved a girl from brutal rapists then found himself unable to offer her what she needed to stop her from moving into ... life as a prostitute." (Dunning, 304) Some listeners, such as Dunning, argue the radio version was more realistic. Episodes were aimed at adults and featured some of the most explicit content of their time, including violent crimes, scalpings, massacres, and opium addicts. Many episodes ended on a somber note, and villains often got away with their crimes. Nonetheless, thanks to the subtle scripts and outstanding ensemble cast, over the years the program evolved into a warm, often humorous celebration of human nature.

Apart from the doleful tone, Gunsmoke was distinct from other radio westerns, as the dialogue was often slow and halting, and due to the outstanding sound effects, listeners had a nearly palpable sense of the prairie where the show was set. The effects were subtle but multilayered, giving the show a spacious feel. John Dunning wrote, "The listener heard extraneous dialogue in the background, just above the muted shouts of kids playing in an alley. He heard noises from the next block, too, where the inevitable dog was barking." (Dunning, 305)

"Gunsmoke" was also unique from other westerns in that it was unsponsored for the first few years of production. The program got its support from CBS for the first two years. Series producers felt that if the show was sponsored they would have to "clean the show up" (Time, 1953). The show wanted to find a sponsor that would allow it to keep the show the way it was.[9]

Not long after the radio show began, there was talk of adapting it to television. Privately, Macdonnell had a guarded interest in taking the show to television, but publicly, he declared that "our show is perfect for radio," and he feared that, as Dunning writes, "Gunsmoke confined by a picture could not possibly be as authentic or attentive to detail." (Dunning, 305) "In the end", wrote Dunning, "CBS simply took it away from Macdonnell and began preparing for the television version." (Dunning, 305)

Conrad and the others were given auditions, but they were little more than token efforts—especially in Conrad's case, due to his obesity. However, Meston was kept as the main writer. In the early years, a majority of the TV episodes were adapted from the radio scripts, often using identical scenes and dialogue. Dunning wrote, "That radio fans considered the TV show a sham and its players impostors should surprise no one. That the TV show was not a sham is due in no small part to the continued strength of Meston's scripts." (Dunning, 304)

Macdonnell and Meston continued the radio version of Gunsmoke until 1961, making it one of the most enduring vintage radio dramas.

Conrad directed two television episodes, in 1963 and 1971, while McNear appeared on six, playing characters other than Doc, including three times as storekeeper Howard Rudd.

The TV series ran from September 10, 1955, to March 31, 1975, on CBS with 635 total episodes. It was the second westerntelevision series written for adults,[10] premiering on September 10, 1955, four days after The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp.[11][12] The first 12 seasons aired Saturdays at 10 p.m., seasons 13 through 16 aired Mondays at 7:30 p.m. and the last four seasons aired Mondays at 8 p.m. During its second season in 1956, the program joined the list of the top ten television programs broadcast in the United States. It quickly moved to number one and stayed there until 1961. It remained among the top twenty programs until 1964.[13]

The television series remains the longest running, prime time series of the 20th century. As of 2014[update], it had the highest number of scripted episodes for any, U.S. primetime, commercial live-action television series. Other TV show fans sometimes question its position as having the longest run. Outside the United States, there are some foreign-made programs that have been broadcast in the United States which contend for the position as the longest-running series.[notes 1] As of 2010[update], Gunsmoke is rated fifth globally, after Doctor Who (1963 – 89, 2005– ), Taggart (1983 – 2010),[14]The Bill (1984 – 2010).

James Arness and Milburn Stone portrayed their Gunsmoke characters for 20 consecutive years, as did Kelsey Grammer as the character Frasier Crane, but over two half-hour sitcoms (Cheers and Frasier).[15] George Walsh, the announcer for Gunsmoke, began in 1952 on radio's Gunsmoke and continued until television's Gunsmoke was canceled in 1975.[16] The first seven seasons were jointly sponsored by L&M cigarettes and Remington shaving products.

When Gunsmoke was adapted for television in 1955, in spite of a campaign to persuade the network, the network was not interested in bringing either Conrad or his radio costars to the television medium. Conrad's weight was rumored to be a deciding factor. Denver Pyle was also considered for the leading role, as was Raymond Burr, who was ultimately also seen as too fat for the part. Charles Warren, television Gunsmoke's first director, said "His voice was fine but he was too big. When he stood up, his chair stood with him."[17] According to Dennis Weaver's comments on the 50th Anniversary DVD, Disc One, Episode "Hack Prine", John Wayne was never considered for the role; to have done so would have been preposterous since Wayne was a top movie leading man. The belief Wayne was asked to pin on the badge is disputed by Warren. Although he agrees Wayne encouraged Arness to take the role, Warren says, "I hired Jim Arness on the strength of a picture he's done for me ... I never thought for a moment of offering it to Wayne."[16]

In the end, the primary roles were all recast, with Arness taking the lead role of Marshal Matt Dillon (on the recommendation of Wayne, who also introduced the pilot); Dennis Weaver playing Chester Goode; Milburn Stone being cast as Dr. G. "Doc" Adams (later Galen "Doc" Adams); and Amanda Blake taking on the role of Miss Kitty Russell. Macdonnell became the associate producer of the TV show and later the producer. Meston was named head writer.

Good evening. My name's Wayne. Some of you may have seen me before; I hope so. I've been kicking around Hollywood a long time. I've made a lot of pictures out here, all kinds, and some of them have been Westerns. And that's what I'm here to tell you about tonight: a Western—a new TV show called Gunsmoke. No, I'm not in it. I wish I were, though, because I think it's the best thing of its kind that's come along, and I hope you'll agree with me; it's honest, it's adult, it's realistic. When I first heard about the show Gunsmoke, I knew there was only one man to play in it: James Arness who is actually my friend. He's a young fellow, and maybe new to some of you, but I've worked with him and I predict he'll be a big star. So you might as well get used to him, like you've had to get used to me! And now I'm proud to present my friend Jim Arness in Gunsmoke.

Chester and Festus Haggen are perhaps Dillon's most recognizable sidekicks, though there were others who would become acting deputies for two and a half to seven and a half year stints: Quint Asper (Burt Reynolds) (1962 – 65), Thad Greenwood (Roger Ewing) (1966 – 68), and Newly O'Brian (Buck Taylor) (1967 – 75), who served as both back-up deputy and doctor-in-training, having some studies in medicine via his uncle, which then continued under Doc Adams.[citation needed]

In 1962, Burt Reynolds was added to the show's lineup, as the "halfbreed" blacksmith Quint Asper and performed that role during the years between the departure of Chester Goode and the appearance of Festus Haggen. Three of the actors, who played Dodge deputies, Ken Curtis, Roger Ewing and Buck Taylor, had previous guest roles. Curtis, a big band and western singer (Tommy Dorsey Band, Shep Fields Band, Sons of the Pioneers), had five previous guest roles including one in 1963 as a shady ladies' man named Kyle Kelly ("Lover Boy", season 9, show 2 [Episode #307]).[19]

Curtis first appeared in the 1959 episode "Jayhawkers" (season 4, episode 21 [Episode#138]), where he played Phil Jacks, a Texas cowboy with Jack Elam as his boss during a cattle drive from Texas. The second was another 1959 episode entitled "Change of Heart" (season 4, episode 32 [Episode #149]), where he played Brisco, which also starred James Drury as Jerry Cass. The third appearance is the 1960 episode "The Ex-Urbanites" (season 5, episode 30 [Episode #186]), where he plays Jesse with Robert Wilke as Pitt. He also had a small role as an Indian named Scout in the episode "Speak Me Fair" (season 5, episode 34 [Episode #190]) in 1960. Curtis, was reared in Las Animas, Colorado, and for a time a son-in-law of director John Ford.[20]

In 1963, Weaver left the series to pursue a broader acting career in TV series and films. In 1964 Curtis was signed as a regular to play the stubbornly illiterate hillbilly Festus Haggen. The character, heretofore a comic feature, came to town in a 1962 episode titled "Us Haggens", to avenge the death of his twin brother Fergus, and decided to stay in Dodge when the deed was done. Initially on the fringes of Dodge society, Festus was slowly phased in as a reliable sidekick/ part-time deputy to Matt Dillon when Reynolds left in 1965. In the episode "Alias Festus Haggen", he is mistaken for a robber and killer whom he has to expose to free himself (both parts played by Curtis). In a comic relief episode ("Mad Dog"), another case of mistaken identity forces Festus to fight three sons of a man killed by his cousin. As a side note, there is only one episode that has all three actors in it playing their respective roles. It is the 1964 episode entitled "Prairie Wolfer" (season 9, episode 16 [Episode #321]), with Dennis Weaver as Chester, Burt Reynolds as Quint, and Ken Curtis as Festus.[21]

When Milburn Stone left the series for health reasons for several episodes in 1971, Pat Hingle played his temporary replacement, Dr. John Chapman, whose presence was at first roundly resisted by Festus, a bickersome but close friend of Doc Adams.

The back stories of some of the main characters were largely left to the imagination of the viewer. Matt Dillon spent his early years in foster care, knew the Bible, was a wayward, brawling cowboy, and later mentored by a caring lawman. Kitty Russell, born in New Orleans and reared by a flashy foster mother (who once visited Dodge), apparently had no living family. (See "Miss Kitty" in the following section "Differences between the characters on the radio & TV versions".) Barkeep Sam was said to be married but no sightings of a wife were made (In the episode "Tafton", he is seen side-by-side with a woman in a church singing). Quint Asper's white father was killed by white scavengers. Thad Greenwood's father, a storekeeper, was harassed to death by a trio of loathsome ne'er-do-well thieves. Chester Goode was known to be one of many brothers raised by an aunt and uncle, and he mentions his mother on one occasion; he referred to past service in the cavalry, and years as a cattle driver in Texas. The cause of Chester's stiff right leg was never given, but it was shown as his own leg and not a prosthesis. No direct reference was ever made to his disability in the script, although some oblique moments painted the free spirited, comic deputy with a darker tone. Newly O'Brien was named after a physician uncle, who ignited his interest in medicine.

While Dillon and Miss Kitty clearly had a close personal relationship, the two never married. In a July 2, 2002, Associated Press interview with Bob Thomas, Arness explained, "If they were man and wife, it would make a lot of difference. The people upstairs decided it was better to leave the show as it was, which I totally agreed with." In the episode "Waste", featuring Johnny Whitaker as a boy with a prostitute mother, her madam questions Dillon as to why the law overlooks Miss Kitty's enterprise. It appears that bordellos could exist "at the law's discretion" (meaning the marshal's). Miss Kitty was written out in 1974. The actress sought more free time and reportedly missed her late co-star, Glenn Strange, who played her Long Branch barkeep, Sam. When Blake decided not to return for the show's 20th (and final) season, the character was said to have returned to New Orleans. She was replaced by the hoarse-voiced, matronly actress Fran Ryan (known to many as the second Doris Ziffel on CBS' "Green Acres").

For over a decade on television, a sign hung over Doc's office that read "Dr. G. Adams". Milburn Stone was given free rein to choose the character's first name. The actor chose the surname of an ancient Greek physician and medical researcher named Galen.[22] He is first referred to in this manner by Theodore Bikel in the season 10 episode, "Song for Dying", aired February 13, 1965.[23]

There were differences between the characters on the radio and TV versions of Gunsmoke. In the radio series, Doc was acerbic, somewhat mercenary, and borderline alcoholic—at least in the program's early years. On radio's Gunsmoke, Doc Adams's real name was Dr. Calvin Moore.[24] He came west and changed his name to escape a charge of murder. The television Doc, though still crusty, was in many ways softer and warmer.

There was nothing in the radio series to suggest that Chester Proudfoot was disabled, a merely visual feature added to the Chester Goode character on television because of actor Dennis Weaver's athletic build, to emphasize Chester's role as a follower and not an independent agent.[citation needed]

Miss Kitty, who, after the radio series ended, was said by some to have engaged in prostitution, began in that role in the television series, working in the Long Branch Saloon. In an earlier 1956 episode, the owner of the Long Branch was named Bill Pence. A later 1956 episode begins with Chester pointing out to Matt (who had been out of town) a new sign under the Long Branch Saloon sign stating "Russell & Pence, Proprietors". In that same episode, John Dehner portrayed a dubious New Orleans businessman claiming to be Kitty's father, who tried to talk her into selling her half interest in the Long Branch and returning to New Orleans with him as a partner in his alleged freight business. In another 1956 episode (involving a new saloon girl named "Rena Decker" who causes four deaths by provoking men into fighting over her), Miss Kitty identifies herself as half-owner of the Long Branch with Mr. Pence (played by Judson Pratt). Subsequently, Miss Kitty transitioned to sole owner. Although early film episodes showed her descending from her second-floor rooms in the saloon with Matt, or showed her or one of her girls leading a cowboy up to those same rooms, these scenes disappeared later on, and viewers were guided to see Miss Kitty just as a kindhearted businesswoman.[citation needed]

From 1955 to 1961, Gunsmoke was a half-hour show (re-titled Marshal Dillon in syndication). It then went to an hour-long format. The series was re-titled Gun Law in the UK. The Marshal Dillon syndicated rerun lasted from 1961 until 1964 on CBS, originally on Tuesday nights within its time in reruns.

Gunsmoke was TV's No. 1 ranked show from 1957 to 1961 before slipping into a decline after expanding to an hour. In 1967, the show's 12th season, CBS planned to cancel the series, but widespread viewer reaction (including a mention in Congress and the behind-the-scenes pressure from the wife of CBS's president) prevented its demise. On the Biography Channel's Behind The Scenes: Gilligan's Island (2002); Gilligan's Island producer Sherwood Schwartz states that the wife of CBS's president pressured her husband not to cancel Gunsmoke in 1967, and so the network cut Gilligan's Island instead. The show continued in its new time slot at 8 pm on Mondays. This scheduling move led to a spike in ratings that saw it once again rally to the top 10 in the Nielsen ratings until the 1973 – 74 television season.[25] In September 1975, despite still ranking among the Top 30 programs in the ratings, Gunsmoke was canceled after a 20-year run; it was replaced by Mary Tyler Moore spin-offs Rhoda and Phyllis. Thirty TV Westerns came and went during its 20-year tenure, and Gunsmoke was the sole survivor, with Alias Smith and Jones and Bonanza both leaving the airwaves in January 1973.

For most of its run, Gunsmoke ran its closing credits over a photograph of a coffee pot sitting on a stove in the Dodge City jail. Pictured here is a similar looking pot to the one used on the TV show, which is found at the Cracker Barrel restaurant in Lubbock, Texas.

Arness and Stone remained with the show for its entire run, though Stone missed seven episodes in 1971.

The entire cast was stunned by the cancellation, as they were unaware that CBS was considering it. According to Arness, "We didn't do a final, wrap-up show. We finished the 20th year, we all expected to go on for another season, or two or three. The (network) never told anybody they were thinking of canceling." The cast and crew read the news in the trade papers.[26]

In 1987, CBS commissioned a reunion movie titled Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge. Arness and Blake returned as Matt Dillon and Kitty Russell, with Buck Taylor reprising his role as now-Marshal Newly O'Brian and Fran Ryan returning in her role as Kitty's replacement Hannah. Of the other two primary castmembers that were with the series when it was cancelled, Milburn Stone was unavailable to play Doc as he had passed away in 1980. Ken Curtis, in the meantime, could not come to an agreement with the producers; he felt that because Festus, his character, was the right-hand man of Matt Dillon, he deserved a salary comparable to that of Amanda Blake to reprise the role and the producers did not agree. The film, shot in Alberta, featured a now retired Marshal Dillon being attacked by a vengeful former rival and returning to Dodge City to heal and seek revenge.

In 1990, the second telefilm, Gunsmoke: The Last Apache, premiered. Since Amanda Blake had died the year before from AIDS-related complications, the writers decided to revisit a 1973 episode's plot for the movie. The plot was based on the two part episode "Matt's Love Story", which was noted for the marshal's first overnight visit to a female's lodgings. In the episode, Matt loses his memory and his heart during a brief liaison with "Mike" Yardner (Michael Learned of The Waltons). In the film, Learned returned and Mike reveals to Marshal Dillon that he is the father of her daughter Beth (played by Amy Stock-Poynton) and asks him for help in saving her.

1955 – 61 half-hour episodes: These episodes are sometimes seen in their original format and sometimes in the Marshal Dillon format. When first-run prime-time episodes of Gunsmoke expanded to an hour in Fall 1961, CBS-TV reran the half-hour episodes as Marshal Dillon on the network on Tuesday nights from 1961 through 1964. These were later rerun in syndication. General syndication ended in the 1980s, but they do air occasionally on cable TV. Local stations would show the re-titled Marshal Dillon version of the series, while the series under the original Gunsmoke title (with some episodes under the Marshal Dillon retitling) were seen in the late 1990s on TV Land and later Me-TV. Encore Westerns currently[when?] airs this version under the Marshal Dillon title. RetroPlex also currently airs two half-hour episodes under the original Gunsmoke title, although the episodes are advertised as Marshal Dillon, on Saturday nights from 8pm to 9pm eastern standard time.

1961 – 66 one-hour black-and-white episodes: These episodes have not been widely seen in regular syndication since the 1980s, although selected episodes did air from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s on CBN Cable/The Family Channel, and later on Encore Westerns on a three-year contract that ended circa 2006. As of January 2010, Encore Westerns is again airing the episodes.

1966 – 75 one-hour color episodes: The last nine seasons of the Western, these are the most widely syndicated episodes of the entire series' run and are still aired on some local stations, as well as nationally on TV Land and Me-TV.

In 2006, as part of Gunsmoke's 50th anniversary on TV, certain selected episodes were released on DVD in three different box sets. Twelve episodes, from 1955 to 1964, were selected for the Gunsmoke: Volume I box set, and another twelve episodes, from 1964 to 1975, were selected for the Gunsmoke: Volume II box set. Both volume box sets are also available as a combined single "Gift Box Set". A third unique DVD box set, known as Gunsmoke: The Directors Collection, was also released with ten selected episodes from certain seasons throughout the series' 20-year history. All of these box sets are available on Region 1 DVD from Paramount Home Entertainment and CBS DVD.

Additionally, Paramount Home Entertainment and CBS DVD have released the first ten seasons (seasons 1 – 6 are known as the "half-hour years") on DVD in Region 1. Season 11, volumes 1 & 2 will be released on December 2, 2014.[29]

Dodge City's Boot Hill Museum has a tribute to Gunsmoke, including furniture from the 1960s and an old television tuned to the show. Signed photographs from the show's actors and other memorabilia are on display including a vest worn by Sam the Bartender (actor Glenn Strange) and a dress worn by Miss Kitty, (actress Amanda Blake).[37]

Gunsmoke had one spin-off series, Dirty Sally, a semi-comedy starring Jeanette Nolan as an old woman and Dack Rambo as a young gunfighter, leaving Dodge City for California in order to pan for gold. The program lasted only thirteen weeks and aired in the first half of 1974, a year before Gunsmoke ended.

The Gunsmoke radio theme song and later TV theme was titled "Old Trails", also known as "Boothill". The Gunsmoke theme was composed by Rex Koury.[39] The original radio version was conducted by Koury. The TV version was thought to have been first conducted by CBS west coast music director Lud Gluskin. The lyrics of the theme, never aired on the radio or television show, were recorded and released by Tex Ritter in 1955. Ritter was backed on that Capitol record by Rex Koury and the radio Gunsmoke orchestra.[40]

The Gunsmoke brand was used to endorse numerous products, from cottage cheese[41] to cigarettes.

Lowell Toy Manufacturing Corporation ("It's a Lowell Game") issued Gunsmoke as their game No. 822.[42] Other products include Gunsmoke puzzles,[43]

In 1985, Capcom released a video game for the arcade (and its corresponding game for the NES in 1988) with a western theme, called Gun.Smoke. Other than the western theme, the show and game have no relationship whatsoever.[citation needed]

In 1957, Ballantine Books published a collection of short stories.[49] Each story is based on a half-hour Gunsmoke episode. Although a photo of James Arness and the CBS TV logo are on the book cover, in at least one story Matt introduces Chester as "Chester Proudfoot", an indication that the stories are actually adapted from radio scripts.

^Because the show was a "primetime" series, the competition doesn't include such long-lived shows as Captain Kangaroo (1955 – 84) and many daytime serials. As a "commercial" series, it can't be compared to shows like the PBS program Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1966 – 2001). As a "live-action" series, programs like the adult animated series The Simpsons (1989–) aren't included, whose voice-over actors age off-screen. Some foreign countries have broadcast series over a longer duration, but these programs have employed an array of actors in their principal lead roles.